SOFTBALL

Texas softball beats Baylor again, looks poised to become unanimous No. 1 team in nation

Austin American-Statesman

Texas infielder Alyssa Washington had a home run and two of the Longhorns' 13 hits in a 9-6 win over Baylor Saturday. Texas will try for the series sweep Sunday against the Bears.

Texas secured its softball series win over Baylor with a 9-6 victory in a back-and-forth banger Saturday at McCombs Field.

On Sunday, the Longhorns will try for the sweep a year after losing all three games to the Bears.

Baylor scored three runs in the first inning against Texas starter Citlaly Gutierrez, but the Longhorns responded with three of their own runs in the bottom of the frame. The wild opening inning set the tone for a game that featured 23 hits and several spectacular defensive plays.

More:Texas softball team shows it can handle newfound pressure in win over Texas State

Texas’ offensive outburst included a solo home run from Bella Dayton in the fifth inning and one from Alyssa Washington in the sixth that capped the scoring. The game also had a 3-for-4 performance with two RBIs for designated player Reese Atwood that pushed her team-high RBI tally to 57 for the season, and a 3-for-4 outing for Vivi Martinez, who is hitting .714 over her last five games.

Texas senior Estelle Czech earned her seventh win in the circle after coming on in relief of Gutierrez in the second, and Mac Morgan earned her first save of the season by holding Baylor to one hit and one run over the final two innings.

“It was a difficult game coming out and being down 3-0 in the bottom of the first, but it could’ve been worse, to be honest,” Texas coach Mike White said. “(Baylor) really came out and hit the ball really well and didn’t let Citlaly settle in.

"But our response was tremendous by coming out and scoring three runs straight away and basically making it a 0-0 game, again. Then we were able to score in every single inning except the second and just found a way to keep the press on them all afternoon.”

With a win in Sunday’s 1 p.m. at McCombs Field, Texas (34-6, 13-4 Big 12) will likely become the nation’s unanimous No. 1 team. The Longhorns are currently ranked atop the ESPN/USA Softball poll and stand No. 2 in the USA Today/NFCA poll behind three-time defending national champion Oklahoma, which lost Friday to BYU.